Recession, Tech Kill Middle-Class Jobs

Since the start of the Great Recession, millions of middle-class jobs worldwide have been lost. Labor market experts say most of the jobs won’t return, and millions more likely will vanish. The lost jobs aren’t just in manufacturing, but increasingly are in the service sector, where two-thirds of all employees work. These jobs—ranging from secretaries to travel agents—are largely being obliterated by technology. Even information technology staffs are at risk, now that services exist allowing businesses to rent computing power when they need it. In the U.S., 50% of the 7.5 million jobs lost during the Great Recession were in sectors that pay middle-class wages. However, just 2% of the 3.5 million jobs created since June 2009 pay middle-class wages. About 70% of the new jobs are in low-paying sectors.

Staffing jobs saw marginal growth in May, ticking up after falling to a historic low of 60 in April during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the ASA Staffing Index. Get more near real-time staffing trends at americanstaffing.net/index.
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